Partizan mt:s trumped Real Madrid 80-79
Partizan m:ts recorded another huge victory in front of its loyal fans at Pionir Arena by downing Real Madrid 80-79 in a dramatic fashion. Partizan survived despite only 2-of-14 three-point shooting and beat Real Madrid for only the second time in club history. Both teams now have 2-2 records in Group C. Acie Law made what turned out to be 2 crucial free throws with 17.3 seconds to go while Sergio Llull in the remaining time missed one of two free throws as well as the potentially game-wining triple at the buzzer. Nikola Pekovic was hosts’ top scorer with 21 points, and Milan Macvan scored 16 along with 12 rebounds. Law added 14 and 5 assists and Dusan Kecman finished with 10. Jaycee Carroll led the visitors by scoring 16 of his 21 points in the second quarter. Llull and Rudy Fernandez scored 13 apiece, with Rudy scoring all of his points in the second half.
Macvan drove to the basket to open the scoring and Dragan Milosavljevic added two free throws to help Partizan make a good start into the game. The hosts doubled their lead with aggressive defense on one end, and with Peković scoring inside off the glass and with Law making a layup through the crowd. The visitors were without any easy shots and with 4 turnovers before Marko Cakaravic made both free throws for 10-0 lead as all Partizan’s starters scored in the opening four minutes. Carlos Suarez converted a tough fadeaway jumper to put Madrid on the board, but Pekovic and Law extended the lead to 14-3. Madrid looked to be missing from the game until Nikola Mirotic scored 5 consecutive points. Llull’s basket-plus-foul cut the lead to 17-11 after eight minutes and Suarez got the visitors even closer with a nifty runner. Things kept happening pretty quickly on the floor as Law made a steal for uncontested layup and Miroslav Raduljica added free throws, while Llull scored a buzzer-beating three pointer for 22-16 edge after 10 minutes.
Carroll opened the second quarter with his first three. That shot cut the lead to 22-19 and started Carroll’s big scoring run. Pekovic made two tough shots over Ibaka to give his team 27-19 advantage, but Carroll answered with a basket-plus-foul and another three-pointer. After Cakarevic made Partizan’s first three-pointer, Carroll scored a lay-up and made his third shot behind the 6.75-meter line to cut the lead to 34-30 with six minutes left in the half as Carroll scored all 14 second-quarter points for the visitors up to that point. Madrid started playing zone-defense and Carroll and Martynas Pocius finished a 0-8 run to give them their first lead 34-35. But Pekovic brought his A-game and scored another basket-plus-foul from close range. A technical foul called on Felipe Reyes allowed Macvan to score 4 times from the charity stripe for 43-37. In the final two minutes, Sergio Rodriguez scored a three-pointer for Madrid, and Pekovic made a tip-in for the home side and gave Partizan 45-40 halftime lead.
In the opening minute of the third quarter, Rudy Fernandez scored his first points of the game and assisted for an easy lay-up for Mirotic. Then Rudy scored a long three to tie the game 47-47, but Cakarevic and Raduljica kept the home side in front. Two teams fought hard on defense forcing turnovers and refused to give up on any ball while trying to control rebounds. Rudy Fernandez three-pointer put Madrid ahead 53-54 after 8 minutes in the third quarter and Llull followed it up with a drive that ended in a three-point play. Rasko Katic and Serge Ibaka exchanged buckets before Llull raced for an uncontested lay-up giving his side 55-61 lead and forced Partizan head coach Vlade Jovanovic to call a timeout. It turned out to be a good decision as Law scored just before the buzzer to reduce the deficit to 57-61 at the end of third quarter.
Kecman’s wide-open three-pointer in the second minute of the fourth quarter put Partizan right back in the game and Vladimir Lucic’s lucky tip-in gave the hosts a 62-61 lead. Macvan’s lovely give-and-go with Pekovic finished an 11-2 run that put Partizan up by 3, but Pocius answered with a three-pointer to tie the game with four minutes gone in the fourth. Pekovic was once again unstoppable in the paint, and a technical foul on Mirza Begic allowed Macvan to score 4 free throws on the next couple of possessions and in only 30 second Partizan had a 6-point lead once again. Madrid head coach Pablo Laso called a timeout to try to stop the home-side’s momentum and he did just that. Carroll made a shot over Pekovic and hit a runner plus the additional free throw to cut the lead to 1 point, and then assisted Pocius for an easy layup and a 72-73 lead. Law scored a layup, Begic answered from close range, and Law drove to the basket once again for 76-75 Partizan advantage with two minutes to go. It was the visiting team that entered the final minute with a lead after an off-the-dribble three-pointer by Rudy Fernandez, but 2 free throws by Kecman tied the game 78-78 with 41 seconds to go. Rudy then tried to put his team back up, but he missed a layup in the crowd and made a quick foul on Law, who hit both shots from the free throw line for 80-78 Partizan advantage with 17.3 seconds left before the final buzzer. After a Madrid timeout, Llull was sent to the line where he hit the first and missed his second free throw, but managed to force a dead-ball. The possession arrow pointed Madrid’s way. There were 3.6 seconds left on the clock, Llull got the ball back in the corner, but all he managed was an off-balance three-point attempt that barely touched the rim as Pionir Arena erupted.
Thursday, November 10, 2011
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